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Mercedes-Benz has launched its new luxury sports utility vehicle, the GLE in India. The GLE, which succeeds the popular M-Class, is the company’s best selling SUV globally. It will be available in the 250d and 250d variants and will be manufactured at the German auto brand’s Pune facility. Mercedes-Benz claims that the GLE will combine the luxurious trappings of an on-road vehicle with the performance of an off-roader.
DesignThe exterior of the SUV features upright radiator trim with centrally positioned Mercedes star and two sculpted louvres. It also has an accentuated front bumper with diamond grille and bonnet with powerdomes. The headlamps feature integrated daytime running lights and the tail lights have a two-piece design. Both front and rear lighting is handled by LEDs. The interiors sporty 3-spoke multifunction steering wheel and a newly designed instrument cluster.
Engine and transmissionThe GLE is powered by a 6-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. The 350d variant comes with a 2987cc engine that produces 258 hp of power and a maximum torque of 620Nm. The 2143 cc inline 4-cylinder diesel engine on the 250d variant produces 204 hp of power and a torque of 500Nm.
Gear changes on the GLE are handled by the automatic 9G-TRONIC transmission, featuring nine forward gears and one reverse gear. Developed in-house by Mercedes-Benz, it ensures a sporty drive through its closely spaced gears and allows for multiple easy downshifts.
The car comes with a built-in Dynamic Select system that offers five different driving modes that alter various parameters like the characteristics of the engine, transmission, steering and suspension to match driving conditions.
The GLE’s AIRMATIC air suspension combined with the Adaptive Damping System (ADS) guarantees extremely stable driving. The damping system adjusts to the chosen driving mode and the suspension system ensures constant vehicle level irrespective of loading and automatically adjusts ground clearance at high speeds.
Safety featuresThe GLE is equipped with a number of advanced safety features such as Crosswind Assist, Attention Assist, Active Parking Assist, and Brake Assist Plus. These features are packaged together and presented under the Intelligent Drive function. The GLE also comes with 6 airbags for driver and passenger protection.
Digital connectivityMercedes-Benz offers its trademark COMAND Online infotainment system on the GLE. The 8-inch high-resolution display presents the driver with new generation telematics and features like navigation, telephone, audio, video, internet and Wi-Fi hotspot.
The GLE 250d has an ex-showroom price tag of ₹58.90 lakhs and the 350d is available for ₹69.90 lakhs.
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